Vaccine for Rubella

The rubella virus causes a condition that is known by the name of German measles, or simply by Rubella. The term is derived from Latin, meaning “little red” as the condition presents itself in the form of tiny red spots on the skin.

Rubella (not to be confused with Rubeola) is not a serious illness and can sometimes pass unnoticed, especially in children, who have no severe reactions and get well very quickly. The incubation period for the rubella virus lasts anywhere from two to three weeks, but the disease never lasts more than a few days.

A vaccine for rubella exists and children receive it when they are very young. The rubella vaccine is made using live viruses that have been modified in order to present no danger to the person injected. Children get vaccinated against rubella as early as a year and once again before they start school. The vaccine prevents future outbreak by getting the immune system ready to fight off the original virus.

The modified strands of virus in the vaccine have a milder form that do not cause any damage to the child or adult to whom the shot is administered. However, the live virus is enough for the immune system to respond to it by creating antibodies that fight off infection. If the person is exposed to the rubella virus in the future, the immune system knows how to respond, thus immobilizing the virus completely.

The rubella vaccine is now administered in the form of the MMR vaccine, which immunizes the body against the measles and mumps as well. This vaccine contains a combination between the rubella virus and other two attenuated ones to form a concoction able to fight off three different infections. Rubella is not a serious disease but it can cause problems to pregnant women who have not been immunized as children, causing them to lose their babies. So the importance of the rubella vaccine is clear.